National Chef of the Year 2013 semi-finalists announced

Forty-four chefs have made it to the semi-finals of the 2013 National Chef of the Year competition which will take place in Sheffield and London this summer

The Craft Guild of Chefs has revealed the names of the 44 chefs who have made it to the semi-finals of the 2013 National Chef of the Year competition.

The chefs, who work in all areas of hospitality, from pubs and bars to hotels and fine-dining restaurants, will compete in heats in Sheffield and London over the next two months to earn one of eight places in the final, which takes place at The Restaurant Show in London on 8 October.

This year sees an extra four candidates added to the competition's semi-finals due to an increase in the number of entries and an increasingly high standard, according to David Mulcahy, organiser of the competition and vice president of the Craft Guild of Chefs.

“Everyone on the judging panel agreed that the overall quality of entries is getting better and better by the year and we are definitely going in the right direction," he said. "Recipe writing has improved markedly and the entry forms are more focused, partly because we have strived to better communicate what they should concentrate on in their entry; seasonality, provenance and sourcing, and making sure they have a well balanced menu."

Semi-finalists will be tasked with re-creating the menu outlined on their written entry within two hours. Mulcahy advised chefs to concentrate on producing exactly what they had detailed on their menu.

He said: “It’s about practice, practice, practice, and bearing in mind that competitors will be in a kitchen they haven’t cooked in before. Ultimately, the challenge is to create a well balanced, exciting and tasty menu with skill and understanding of the ingredients, and doing your best on the day.”

Now in its fifth decade, the National Chef of the Year competition is designed to recognise and award one chef who stands out by having the skill and passion to succeed. Previous winners include Gordon Ramsay, Simon Hulstone, Mark Sargeant, Frederick Forster and Alyn Williams.